This weekend I’m visiting Morez, France, which is near the Swiss border and about an hour north of Geneva. I haven’t actually seen much of Morez yet, however, as I arrived last night and today took a day trip to Lyon. The two hour drive to Lyon was an interesting one, as much of France is in the midst of a major snowstorm and areas that typically don’t get much snow are completely covered. Fortunately, it wasn’t really snowing during the drive.
We arrived around lunchtime and went to a place that specialized in quenelles. As I soon learned, a quenelle is a "delicate dumpling made of seasoned, minced or ground fish, meat or vegetables bound with eggs or panade". It turns out that Lyon is famous for its quenelles, and they were indeed great. I didn’t go the traditional route, though – I went for the quenelles au gratin, which – as the name indicates -- were bathed in a hot cheese and cream mixture.
After lunch I began my exploration of the city. My first stop was the Place Bellecour, which is supposedly the largest “clear square” (i.e., without any patches of greenery, trees or any kind of obstacles) in Europe. The square is home to a large ferris wheel and a statue of Louis XIV.
I then headed to la basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière, which is on the Fourvière hill and entails a quick funicular ride to get to the top. The basilica itself was very impressive and the views of Lyon from the hill were spectacular. Right after I arrived the snow began to come down, but I was nonetheless rewarded with a nice panoramic view of the city.
After returning down the hill, I visited the Saint-Jean Cathedral and then made my way through le vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), which dates back to Lyon’s medieval and renaissance days. Like the old sections of many of Switzerland’s cities, the streets were very narrow and the buildings were only a couple of stories high. The architecture was interesting and there were even a number of internal passageways (between the buildings) that looked like they could have easily been hundreds of years old.
I then crossed the Soane river to get back to the “presqu'île” (peninsula) section of Lyon, which is bordered on the other side by the Rhône river.
By this time, the snow had really started to come down – perfect given my choice of all outdoor tourist activities. Fortunately, the sights were able to distract me from the heavy snow. My first stop on the peninsula was the Place des Terreaux, which is the site of the Bartholdi Fountain and provides nice views of the Musée des beaux-arts and Lyon’s 17th century town hall.
To conclude the day, I visited some more sights, including the Église St. Nizier (whose doorway was apparently carved in the 16th century) and the Théâtre des Célestins (an “Italian-style” theatre built in the 1880s). Shortly after I took the picture (below) of the band performing, the entire group proceeded to take off their shirts for the encore performance. I felt a little creepy taking a photo of that, though, so you only get to see the fully clothed version.
Right before leaving, I took the following picture of the ferris wheel in the Place Bellecour. It definitely had a much more interesting look at night when fully illuminated.
As a parting thought, I really enjoyed Lyon and definitely would like to visit it again. I unfortunately wasn’t able to see the Odeon of Lyon -- an ancient Roman theater not far from the la basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière -- so that alone should merit a return visit. Plus, I’ll also have to focus a little more on cuisine next time given that Lyon is known as the culinary capital of France.
We arrived around lunchtime and went to a place that specialized in quenelles. As I soon learned, a quenelle is a "delicate dumpling made of seasoned, minced or ground fish, meat or vegetables bound with eggs or panade". It turns out that Lyon is famous for its quenelles, and they were indeed great. I didn’t go the traditional route, though – I went for the quenelles au gratin, which – as the name indicates -- were bathed in a hot cheese and cream mixture.
After lunch I began my exploration of the city. My first stop was the Place Bellecour, which is supposedly the largest “clear square” (i.e., without any patches of greenery, trees or any kind of obstacles) in Europe. The square is home to a large ferris wheel and a statue of Louis XIV.
I then headed to la basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière, which is on the Fourvière hill and entails a quick funicular ride to get to the top. The basilica itself was very impressive and the views of Lyon from the hill were spectacular. Right after I arrived the snow began to come down, but I was nonetheless rewarded with a nice panoramic view of the city.
After returning down the hill, I visited the Saint-Jean Cathedral and then made my way through le vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), which dates back to Lyon’s medieval and renaissance days. Like the old sections of many of Switzerland’s cities, the streets were very narrow and the buildings were only a couple of stories high. The architecture was interesting and there were even a number of internal passageways (between the buildings) that looked like they could have easily been hundreds of years old.
I then crossed the Soane river to get back to the “presqu'île” (peninsula) section of Lyon, which is bordered on the other side by the Rhône river. 
By this time, the snow had really started to come down – perfect given my choice of all outdoor tourist activities. Fortunately, the sights were able to distract me from the heavy snow. My first stop on the peninsula was the Place des Terreaux, which is the site of the Bartholdi Fountain and provides nice views of the Musée des beaux-arts and Lyon’s 17th century town hall.
To conclude the day, I visited some more sights, including the Église St. Nizier (whose doorway was apparently carved in the 16th century) and the Théâtre des Célestins (an “Italian-style” theatre built in the 1880s). Shortly after I took the picture (below) of the band performing, the entire group proceeded to take off their shirts for the encore performance. I felt a little creepy taking a photo of that, though, so you only get to see the fully clothed version.
Right before leaving, I took the following picture of the ferris wheel in the Place Bellecour. It definitely had a much more interesting look at night when fully illuminated.
As a parting thought, I really enjoyed Lyon and definitely would like to visit it again. I unfortunately wasn’t able to see the Odeon of Lyon -- an ancient Roman theater not far from the la basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière -- so that alone should merit a return visit. Plus, I’ll also have to focus a little more on cuisine next time given that Lyon is known as the culinary capital of France. 
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